Early Warning of Harmful Algal Blooms and Biofouling Larvae Using the PlanktoScope, A Low-Cost Automated Plankton Imaging and Analysis Tool

Shellfish farmers and subsistence harvesters in Alaska gravely need tools that can provide them with actionable information regarding blooms of harmful algae and biofouling larvae. Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in Alaska present a significant risk to human health for shellfish consumers, and to the bottom line for shellfish growers.

Shellfish farms may be closed for sales for weeks to months when their product tests above the limits for biotoxins produced by the blooms. Further expense to farmers comes from larval mussels and barnacles settling on gear and competing with farmed organisms. Blooms of HABs and biofouling organisms are exceptionally difficult to predict along the large, complex coastline of Alaska.

Furthermore, tools and techniques used to monitor blooms at an individual farm site are either too expensive or too time consuming for most farm operations. We propose to trial the PlanktoScope, a low-cost (<$5k), open-source digital microscopy platform designed to image and identify plankton, as a HAB and biofouling early warning tool for Alaskan shellfish farmers and harvesters. This technology has the potential to provide farmers and harvesters with actionable information regarding the presence of HAB and biofouling organisms, which would allow them to take mitigation steps to reduce impact on farm operations and human health.

Learn more here.